University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss football at Kentucky Game Notes
9/4/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Southern Miss Captains: 25 -- Ito Smith, 82 -- Tyler Sarrazin, 94 -- Dylan Bradley
Coin Flip: UK wins the toss and elects to receive. Southern Miss kicks off and defends the East goal.
•Southern Miss opened its 100th season by scoring 34 unanswered points to win 44-35. It trailed 35-10 with 56 seconds remaining in the first half.
•Commonwealth Stadium saw the largest comeback in college football since TCU's 31-point effort against Oregon in the Alamo Bowl.
•It was the first win over an SEC opponent in 13 tries, with the last successful attempt being a 21-0 shutout against Alabama on Sept. 16, 2000.
•Southern Miss won its first season opener since a 19-17 decision over Louisiana Tech on Sept. 3, 2011 in Hattiesburg.
•It was the team's first season-opening road win since defeating Nebraska 21-17 on Sept. 11, 2004.
•Southern Miss has won four of its past five road contests.
•The visitors held a 295-56 yardage advantage in the second half.
•The Golden Eagles surrendered the most points in a quarter (21) since allowing 22 against Texas State (9/19/15).
•Southern Miss players making their first career starts included Xavier Thigpen (DL), Julian Allen (TE), Jacob Fleming (LT), Ty Pollard (RT), Isaiah Jones (WR) and Allenzae Staggers (WR).
•Golden Eagles who made their first career action included Julian Allen, Demetrius Market, Quez Watkins, Tarvarius Moore, Ernest Gunn, Allen Fails, Jr., Ty Pollard and Isaiah Jones.
Offensive Notes:
•Southern Miss' 554 yards of offense marked the ninth time since the start of 2015 that it eclipsed the 500-mark.
•The Golden Eagles had a 33-14 edge in first downs.
•Ito Smith (36-173) and George Payne (16-100) became the first Golden Eagle duo with 100-plus rushing yards since Smith and Jalen Richard did so on Nov. 21, 2015 vs. Old Dominion.
•Ito Smith registered the first touchdown of the season -- an eight-yard rush from the Wildcat position -- on the team's first possession of the year to give him his 13th career rushing touchdown.
•Nick Mullens hit Isaiah Jones for a 71-yard scoring strike just before the end of the first half, marking the longest pass play for Mullens since he hit Markese Triplett for an 81-yard TD pass against Marshall (11/2/13). It also marked the longest offensive play for the Golden Eagles since Ito Smith rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown against Austin Peay (9/12/15).
•Mullens added his sixth and seventh career rushing score on a pair one-yard QB sneak in the third quarter.
•Ito Smith rushed for a team-high 173 yards, giving him nine career 100-yard contests and tying him for fifth on that school career chart with Shelton Gandy (1985-88) and Sammy Winder (1978-81).
•Ito Smith's 36 carries were a career-high.
•Julian Allen grabbed his first career TD reception from 18 yards with 6:45 left in the third quarter.
•Nick Mullens finished over 200 yards passing with 258 for the 28th time in his career, trailing only Austin Davis (2008-11) who had 32 in his four-year career.
• Isaiah Jones led the receiving corps with three catches for 93 yards. His 71-yard score at the end of the first half kicked off the comeback.
That 71-yard strike that began the rally was Mullens' longest TD pass since his freshman year against Marshall (Nov. 2, 2013).
•D.J. Thompson caught three passes for 25 yards, his 18th consecutive contest with a reception.
•The Golden Eagles converted 9 of their 17 third downs.
Defensive Notes:
•Southern Miss allowed just 56 yards after Kentucky posted 387 in the first half.
•The Wildcats only ran 14 plays from scrimmage in the second half.
•Xavier Thigpen did absolutely everything for the Golden Eagles. He blocked Kentucky's first punt (which led to Southern Miss' first TD) and also recorded a sack, forced a fumble and recovered another.
•The two Southern Miss forced fumbles were on a Dylan Bradley sack and Xavier Thigpen recovery, and vice versa.
•The Golden Eagles tallied four tackles for loss in the first half.
•Dylan Bradley tallied his second career forced fumble and Xavier Thigpen added his second career recovery midway through the third quarter.
•Trae Collins registered his first career interception late in the third quarter.
Special Team Notes:
•Xavier Thigpen records first career block on the game's first drive, putting a hand on UK's Grant McKinnis' boot. It was the first blocked punt for the Golden Eagles since Picasso Nelson, Jr., tallied one against Austin Peay (9/12/15).
•Parker Shaunfield converted his first field goal attempt of the season, making a kick of 31 yards. Shaunfield also tallied a career long 49-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and sealed the night on a 25-yarder with 2:24 to play.
